Okay, to address some things.
First of all, standard items with standard recipes.
The impression that I got from the day item was implemented is that items are meant to be unique. Standard items that are 100% identical to others, to me, doesn't seem like the direction that items are meant to go. If you noticed, before the raw materials, the only items with same names are those that are part of a set (like aeo's runes and KB's wedding ring, and the map pieces). Otherwise, they're all unique. The raw materials themselves are partly meant to fill the gap and the demand for "standard items". Since making items costs a wishpoints, it didn't seem like making standard items would be so popular anyways (though I might be wrong here).
And when we talk about standard items, although they have no specific "recipe list", their recipe is actually quite standard when you think about them logically. Suppose you want a simple wooden statue, then the material would be a plank, never, for example, a piece of metal. Or if you want a golden ring, I won't ask for an egg shell as material. For simple items, the "recipe" is what you think it would take to make logically, so you will, IMHO, find out what you need faster by thinking it yourself than searching through a list =D
As for shops, I'm trying to work towards one, but raw materials itself are not supposed to be unlimited. The shop will carry some goods, but there will always be some type of materials that are more rare than others, and thus more scarce.